IBM and AWS: Working together to provide pathways for VMware workloads

In the post-Broadcom acquisition period, clients might be facing transformational decisions that have them searching for the best pathways to serve their business needs. The goal: Identify the strategy that drives your business forward and mitigates risk.

VMware is a leader in virtualization platform technologies with a sprawling customer base looking for tools, services, and support to optimize and modernize infrastructure for the cloud. IDC estimates that 79% of global enterprises run VMware, amounting to a 45% market share in virtualization platform technologies.

IBM helps clients to analyze their options in their virtualization journey, including, staying, and optimizing on VMware or choose alternatives by working with a strong ecosystem of partners like AWS. Here’s how IBM and AWS can help companies navigate their VMware footprint.

A path forward with IBM and AWS

IBM, in partnership with AWS, can ensure the cloud transformation journey is seamless and cost effective, helping VMware enterprises quickly chart a course. The multifaceted IBM and AWS partnership provides VMware enterprises with a streamlined path forward depending on their requirements, challenges, and appetite for risk. IBM provides advisory services to assess and evaluate the different strategies for migration and modernization while helping enterprises chart a course tailored to their unique VMware environment and business needs.

IBM and AWS help VMware workloads and applications transition to cloud via four scenarios:

1. Migration approach: Organizations are at various stages of their cloud journey to support their digital transformation goals. Clients that have preference to become AWS cloud native can migrate existing VMware virtual machines (VMs) to AWS by rehosting applications on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances.
2. Container approach: Leveraging IBM’s comprehensive end to-end stack of cloud infrastructure, AI, and cybersecurity solutions, businesses can run and manage both containerized and virtual machine (VM) workloads on a single platform. With tools such as RedHat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA), OpenShift Virtualization, Elastic Kubernetes Services (EKS), and Amazon ECS on AWS Fargate, businesses can containerize workloads across the AWS Cloud.
3. Software as a service (SaaS) approach: Applications running on VMware can be moved to AWS as a SaaS solution, providing a flexible, cost-effective and efficient software delivery mechanism.
4. Managed services approach: As an AWS certified managed services provider, IBM can simplify and automate cloud management with an array of services that put best practices, security, and compliance at the forefront. With this approach, IBM handles the complexities of cloud infrastructure freeing up enterprises to focus on core business activities.

To ensure successful VMware modernization, IBM combines its deep expertise in AWS technologies with its customized approach to individual customer needs. IBM’s extensive library of pre-built migration patterns, cloud accelerators, and intellectual property assets, fortified by GenAI, form the basis of the IBM’s migration and modernization factory model using Amazon Bedrock.

IBM has built a suite of migration tools and assets such as Discovery as a Service, Migration Assist, and Design Assistant. The offering lowers the total cost of ownership (TCO) by combining data center consolidation and exit strategies while establishing a GenAI-ready platform that accelerates overall modernization.

By modernizing VMware workloads on AWS, companies can also take advantage of AWS’ comprehensive suite of cloud services as well as cloud capabilities such as scalability and pay-as-you-go pricing models. AWS’ proven operational experience, rich third-party ecosystem, and Migration Acceleration Program (MAP) make it a natural partner to help modernize and move on-premises VMware workloads to AWS native cloud services. .

“Navigating change can be complicated for even the most seasoned  CIO,” said Mahmoud Elmashni, Managing Partner for the AWS Strategic Alliance at IBM Consulting, “Having access to experts that understand the evolving landscape, the need for optionality, and how to get value from their VMware environment can make a real difference.”

That’s where IBM Consulting is uniquely positioned,” he continues. “We help our clients assess the options and opportunities available and create pathways on their hybrid cloud journeys that will most positively impact their business. For those clients looking to modernize with AWS, our close collaboration and deep expertise in AWS environments allows us to identify the most effective scenarios and execute with speed and clarity.”

The bottom line

For CIOs looking to derisk their cloud journey and modernize their VMware workloads, IBM and AWS have the expertise, ability to customize, and pricing options to deliver success.

Learn more here about how to optimize, and modernize your VMware workloads on AWS Cloud.